Games on the Island

My soon to be wife Rhonda and myself will be at CTI from March 22nd-28th, and have been studying these forums every day. Rhonda pointed out in another thread that nude bocci (spelling??) ball would be fun, but that was at CSS. We're just wondering if any kind of games or anything happen on the island. We've heard about trivia games and things like body painting and all that, which sound fun, but just looking for more ideas. We like to be involved and share laughs, and games are always a good way for something funny to happen. Hopefully we can hear from some people that will be there when we are!! See some of you soon!

I don't recall there being something organized, although on our first trip 15 years ago they had a board in the textile area advertising games and activities for the island. I think that was more for shock value!

However, depending on the crowd, I've seen drinking games spontaneously erupt. There sometimes is a set or two of dice at the bar, but not sure if they belonged to someone.

We have seen a few games at both places. The staff generally will try to get the guests to participate, but our experience is that they have limited success on the AN side. (there always seems to be a water volleyball game going on the textile side). Trivia games seem to garner the most attention. It just seems that on the AN side the people are really laid back, and more enjoy just hanging out and socializing with each other. There always seem to be several lively conversations going on in the pools at both CTI and SSB. You should come over to SSB for a couple of days - we think the AN facilities are a lot better at SSB!

Games are tough at CTI because of the size...however, the size is the key reason why it's a blast because you get to know people better. No matter how many times people are told to "go right", you've eventually got to go left if you want to get a drink and once you're there and do that uncomfortable "what's up" to the naked guy standing next to you, you're hooked for life

We bring 5-6 kites to fly. When we leave Jamaica, we give them to some of the staff for their kids.
I have a scavenger hunt that I have made up. I could e-mail it to you if you would like.
We also do crab racing. That is where I took my island name. You can always find small crabs around the island. We use magic markers on them so everyone can tell which one is theirs. Put a couple of towels end to end to make a circle. Put the crabs in a cup, then slowly dump them out in the middle of the circle. First crab to make it to the towel is the winner. Caution: Even though the crabs are very small, and you are holding them by the shell, sometimes they can still get their tiny claws around and nip your fingers. So be careful.
We also bring silly hats. This was was started by friends that we met about fifteen years ago. I buy about four or five dozen baseball style hats. Or some other styles if they aren't to expensive. I have also brought "umbrella hats", Groucho Marx eyeglasses with a nose and mustash. With everyone wearing one, we do indeed look pretty silly. You can get a great deal at Oriental Trading Co. They have a "mega-pack" of 50 hats for $60.00. And again, when we leave, we give the hats to staff. They love them.
We also buy some rubber stretchy animals at Stop & Shop. They are only available during the summer months here in New England. They are in the seasonal department. During the time that we are on the island, people like to play with them. It's amazing how the "child" in all of us, comes out to play when we are all naked. People pose them, make believe they are fighting with each other and make animal sounds. Just like little kids. If you are in a state down south, you should be able to find them in the toy department. There are frogs, turtles, reptiles, whales and more. My profile picture on Facebook, has some of them.
We also bring "prizes" for all the game winners and losers. Things that have any kind of tropical theme on them, such as nice plastic cups, plates, towels, etc.
There is another game that is played called "cheek darts". You'll have to e-mail me so I can explain how it goes. This game is played only if there is a very harmonious group of people and no one will be offended. It can be a lot of fun.
We have been going to CTI since 1995. Some of the games come from that group we met back then. The other stuff are things we have come up ourselves.
Our April group is known as the "April Amigos". You can see some of us on Facebook. Search for "April Amigos". It was formed after CTI underwent the renovation and we were all there one week after they opened. We all try to meet every April.

I hope this gives you an idea of what you can do with a little ingenuity. Just try to think outside of the box.